


Power and Control

by injusticez



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Gotham City Sirens (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Pam and Bruce are best friends, Pamela has only been Poison Ivy for awhile, Past Relationship(s), it starts off like a bruce/pam fic but i promise it's not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-11 16:46:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12939477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/injusticez/pseuds/injusticez
Summary: Bruce and Pamela have been best friends since the ages of ten and twelve, respectively. They did everything together, they knew everything about each other. But like all good things, once they reached college and university - they drifted apart. Ten years have past since their graduation and a lot has changed - Pamela is now a meta human, driven insane by her trauma while Bruce has decided to dress up as a bat in order to cope with his. Meanwhile, two fresh-faces hit the scene of Gotham. A wannabe psychiatrist at Arkham, Harleen Quinzel.  And a crazy "cat woman" with a taste for fine art, Selina Kyle. For once in her life, Pamela feels like she has more than Bruce for a friend, but she had to lose control in order to get them.





	1. Pamela I

Pamela could remember it all - moving from Seattle to Gotham, the funeral for the family she didn’t even know existed, meeting her best friend, and losing everything. 

It all started when news of Martha and Thomas Wayne’s death made its way throughout the underground crime scene of the entire nation - of course, at the time, Pamela had no clue that’s how the real news travelled. It took all but a day for the Isley’s once-family home to be sold and for Pamela to never see Seattle again. Later on, Pamela was to miss the place she called home from ages zero to twelve, but it never would’ve mattered again because once the Isley’s moved to Gotham, that’s where they stayed. They were considered the second richest family, second only to the Wayne family - or what was left of it - poor little Bruce and his butler. Looking back, Pamela wished she could’ve met Bruce in a different circumstance like how they met Harvey Dent. Though, she doubts that anything would’ve been different. 

Pamela’s bright red hair was a stark contrast to the drab and dreary interior and atmosphere of the funeral - her kinky curls that her mother tried so hard to straighten throughout her entire childhood and adolescence seemed like they were a symbol for the surprises that came in life, and Bruce - little ten year old Bruce - seemed to appreciate the notion. Aside from answering to all the “Sorry for your losses.” - Pam seemed like the only person he talked to that night with Alfred at his side. 

Even after the funeral -the two kept in touch, due to both attending Gotham Academy only a year apart from each other leading to some quite interesting adventures between both Pamela and Bruce. Despite that, a lot of the time, they would spend their time at Wayne Manor - drinking tea and eating Alfred’s homemade cookies. It was a rare time where Pam would look back and smile at the memory. 

They grew up together, spent their teenage years with Harvey as an unfortunate mesh of high school popularity and superiority. They’d attend galas, dances, and parties together; on the weekends they would go to drive-in’s due to Bruce preferring watching movies there those instead of watching movies in legitimate theaters - for obvious reasons. And if it wasn’t for Bruce’s brooding nature and the chemistry between Pam and Harvey - everyone would have assumed that Bruce Wayne and Pamela Isley were together.

By the time they had all reached a college-age though, it was established that it would be awhile before they saw each other again. Bruce went to medical school, Pam was already studying botany in Arizona, and Harvey was nearly ready to jump-start his political career by the time he hit his early-twenties. But while the three of them were prospering, communication between Pamela and Bruce became fairly difficult, Pam ended up calling Alfred a few times to see if he knew why Bruce wasn’t answering the phone - usually getting “Master Bruce is studying very hard for his upcoming exam.” which sounded false, but if Pam knew one thing about Alfred J. Pennyworth - it was that Alfred J. Pennyworth never lied. 

It had been ten years and in those ten years Pam and Bruce had only seen each other a handful of times and even then - they still hadn’t spoke. So there was no question to why Pamela was so nervous about their ten year highschool reunion, applying a thick coat of red lipstick to her plump and full lips - Pamela sighed, looking at the stark contrast between her green skin and her red lips and hair. She checked her watch, watching exactly as the minute changed and her nerves began to get the best of her which caused Pamela to really question her RSVP - perhaps she could just stay at the hotel; take care of her babies and listen to Sinatra in her pajamas. But in all honesty, she missed her best friend - she knew he would be there, Bruce never missed a party - especially one of this size. What would a high school reunion be without Mr. Most Likely to Succeed and Dr. Valedictorian? Empty. 

Therefore, Pamela smoothed her silk green dress and took a deep breath - watching with contempt as she watched her skin tone change from a deep green to a rich brown. It was a step that she felt was unnecessary, but did anyway in order to protect herself and her identity - especially with the events of the previous night weighing down on her conscious. With that, she took one last glance of herself in the mirror before walking out of her hotel room. The sound of her heels was the only thing she was able to focus on her way to her car, being full of anxiety was something that Pam hadn’t felt in a long while. Though, she had never really been one to be afraid - even as a young child, Pam lived her life confidently and independently. It was an effect to having emotionally-unavailable parents while another effect was that Bruce and plants were Pam’s only real friends - though honestly - she liked it that way. 

Once she made it to her car, she focused on the soft hum of the engine, whispering a quiet apology to the plants in surrounding areas as smaug came out from the back. Instead of focusing on the sound her heels made, she focused solely on driving in the quiet and dark night. 

Later, in stark contrast to the limited noise in the car, the reunion was noisy, chaotic, and unorganized. Who knew that a room full of a hundred or so near thirty-year-olds would be identical to a highschool party? Not Pamela.

She ran into a few familiar faces, but with no sign of Bruce in sight - Pam began to lose hope. She spent most of the night next to Harvey as some kind of arm-candy, though she hated the thought that, that was all she was. Especially since Harvey was flirting with various other women in front of her. But then, the moment everyone in the Class of 1990 had waited for arrived, striding through the front door with confidence was Bruce Thomas Wayne himself in an all-black tuxedo and an award winning smile - literally. He obviously noticed Pamela before mingling with his old classmates. Pam sighed, breaking away from Harvey before beginning to walk over to Bruce - being stopped by Harvey himself.

“Pamela, he’ll come to us. We’re his best friends, just give him time to pick his woman of the night.” Harvey spoke, giving a chuckle at the end of his own snide remark. Pam just frowned, looking up at Harvey. “What? Oh, do you wanna be his woman?” He said, laughing harder. “Pammy-”

“Don’t call me that.” Pamela growled.

“Why not?” The DA smirked. “What are you gonna do... Pammy?”

Pamela tried to keep her cool, really, but when it came to her ex - she couldn’t hold it in as easily. She grabbed the nearest liquid and tossed it in Harvey’s face, her eyes a dark, loveless green as she did so. She quickly wondered why she didn’t just murder Harvey right there, but before she could do so, she snapped out of it.

“Pamela!” Bruce called, running up to her and handing Harvey his handkerchief. Pamela looked at the right side of Harvey’s face; red and irritated. 

“Did I do that?” She whispered so only Bruce could hear her, looking up at him and receiving a nod.

“How about we get you out of here, get you some fresh air.” Bruce suggested only for Pam to repeat the motion he had given to her. 

-

Pam had expected Bruce to be mad, she expected him to yell but instead - he just looked disappointed - giving her the same sad and brooding look he had given almost everyone in his life, while Pam averted her eyes down to the ground. They stood like that for awhile, tensions rising as Pam tried to control herself before Bruce began to speak.

“What was that all about?” He asked, giving a sigh and running a hand through his hair when Pam looked up.

“It was an accident, I let my thoughts get the best of me.” Pam muttered, “I lost control.”

“I get that, but wasting it on Harvey? He’s nothing but a coin-trick, he shouldn’t be your problem.” 

“He just... said something that I didn’t like. Something too personal to vent about to my best friend that I haven’t seen in ten years - despite me trying to keep in contact and only reaching the voicemail of his butler.” Pam snapped as her face got hot and her eyes began to change into the same deep green gaze that she gave Harvey. 

“Pamela, I’m sorry.” 

“Sure you are.” 

“I mean it, Pam, I was busy - you have your Phd, you should know how hard it is to get any sort of degree with the title of ‘doctor’ attached to it.” Bruce was starting to turn to begging, he wasn’t totally wrong - he was busy, but not for the reasons that he was telling Pamela.

Pamela took a deep breath, twinging her fingers as a small sprout inched towards Bruce - but once she caught sight of his face - she stopped, falling to the ground in a fit of tears.

“Pamela? Are you okay?” Bruce questioned, in the eighteen years that he knew Pamela, he had never once seen her cry. She was distant in most circumstances, just like her parents - though, she would never like to admit it - and he was too focused on his own trauma to be the emotional available friend that she needed. 

He didn’t get an answer to his question, but continued to console his friend. He made attempts to get her to talk about it but she would just become inaudible and eventually Bruce gave up after one last attempt. 

“I’m hosting an after party after the reunion at Wayne Manor - you’re invited. If you’re afraid of everyone else knowing what’s wrong, we can talk privately in the parlor.”

Pamela looked up, watching as Bruce walked away and back into the chaos. Her tear-stained face seemed unfixable when she looked into her compact, but she was more than willing to take Bruce up on his offer. She got up, dusting off her dress and sighed once she noticed that the fabric - in comparison to her face - was also ruined. In reaction, she did what she knew best, making her way to the abandoned football field and watching as her skin again changed to its now natural state of green. She hesitated, anticipating pain as she grew a leafy leotard to cover her skin before leaving her bag and dress in the field - burying them in the grass. 

-

It didn’t take long for her to find the dress shop, and to find herself on top of the building before she was able to notice the damage done to the top - shrugging it off, she moved swiftly inside, hearing racks moving. Out of curiosity, she followed the noise seeing a womanly figure facing the same direction as her. 

“Rats...” The voice whispered, glancing up at Pamela. “Double rats- you’re not one of the Bat’s little ‘sidekicks’, are you?” 

Pam shook her head, wondering to herself why the other woman would think such a thing. “If I was, wouldn’t I be fighting you by now?” She replied, raising an eyebrow before letting the store’s house plant wiggle towards the woman’s leg in the same manner that she attempted to use on Bruce with the sprout. 

“Probably,” Pam was given a shrug, “it seems he’s only able to hire children anyway. But you can never be too careful, y’know?”

“I know, it’s Gotham - anyway.”

“That’s a smart cookie, you gotta Phd or something? I’d sense...” she paused to think about it, “psychology.” The thief grinned, quickly moving her body to another rack before skimming through the various fashions that was being offered - none of which really seemed to match the purple leather catsuit she had going on.

“Botany, actually - though I have been known for reading people quite well.” 

“Oh, that makes sense - green skin and all. Hey,” The thief stopped picking up a dark purple dress and holding it up to her body, “What do you think of this? I’m heading to Bruce Wayne’s party later and didn’t have anything quote-on-quote formal to wear.”

In the limited light that the store had, Pam watched as the woman twirled around in the floor-length dress - a smile painted across her face.

“It’s your body.” Pam shrugged, “But if you really want my opinion, it would look really nice on you.”

“Really? Even if you can’t see my whole face?” The other woman was skeptical - Pamela could tell from the way her voice got higher and she stopped dancing around.

“Never underestimate the importance of body language.” 

The woman chuckled, “I’m Selina and you are?”

“Ivy.” Pamela hesitantly replied - it’s not like she didn’t want to tell Selina who she really was, but why would the daughter of the now-deceased second wealthiest family in Gotham need to steal a dress? And why was her skin green? Pamela knew the answers, but she wasn’t ready to give the ones she would’ve needed to. 

Selina smiled, “Well, Ivy, can you read what I’m thinking right now?

Pamela shrugged.

“I think this is the start to a beautiful friendship.”

Quickly after Selina spoke, the two heard a loud crash coming through the front window of the store with footsteps rushing closer towards their area.

“Looks like our guest of honor has arrived, you gonna bounce?” Selina asked, already getting her whip ready to jump out the opening she had made on the roof. Pamela looked around, snatching the first dress she saw in her size before using the house plant to grow a vine. 

“Come on.” She whispered, climbing up and leaving Selina bewildered - though she easily took the offer over her whip. 

The women jumped rooftop to rooftop, trying to outrun the Bat and his sidekick. Though they hadded gotten far before a large caped crusader and a much smaller one got in their way.  


“Stop right there Plant Lady and Cat Girl!” The smaller one yelled with a considerably squeakier voice.

“I’m a woman.” Selina purred.

“And Plant Lady is a pretty shitty name for a supervillain - though we haven’t met before, so I’ll give it a pass.” Pam’s eyes gave a dark green stare at the child before allowing a tree root to wrap around the child’s leg. “Call me Ivy - Poison Ivy.” She cackled, blowing a kiss to the Bat who was trying desperately to get the child out from the tree instead of focusing on how Ivy and Catwoman got away.

-

The night only got darker and darker and Pam found herself getting ready for the second time that night. The dress she stole - a light blue minidress with lace detailing was hanging on the bathroom door. It wasn’t Pamela’s favorite dress, but it was free so she wasn’t really going to complain. 

She applied another coat of red lipstick to her lips as she finished reapplying the rest of her makeup, placing a towel in her lips as she removed the leotard from her skin and changed into her new dress, sighing with relief once it was over. Checking the time, she went out once more, this time driving to Wayne Manor where most of her finer childhood memories resided with Bruce.

As secluded as the Manor was, it only took a half hour for Pamela to arrive. Already she could tell that it would be about as chaotic as the reunion, but she already wasted time on stealing a dress so therefore, she was going to waste more time at the party that Bruce - personally - invited her to. She missed Alfred anyway.

Pamela had to park her car on the side of the street before stepping inside through the gate - following a hoard of people. Inside, there were many more with adult babies drinking, dancing, and discussing a multitude of topics. Pam really didn’t fit in. But that was all disregarded as she ran into Bruce.

“You actually showed up.” He grinned and Pamela could see the surprise on his face.

“Of course I did, you personally invited me - plus I wanted to apologize for how I acted back at the reunion.”

Again, Bruce was surprised - looking down at Pamela’s dress, it wasn’t the usual “Pamela-styled” dress that he would’ve expected, though it appeared to be very familiar to him. 

“So, therefore, I’m sorry and I really want to take you up on your offer about discussing things.” Pamela continued, noticing that Bruce wasn’t paying attention. “Unless you were just bluffing, in that case - I’ll apologize to Harv.”

“Of course I want to discuss things with you, meet me in the parlor in ten.” Bruce insisted, running off again before Pamela could reply. Again, Pamela made her way to Harvey - who was looking slightly less irritated from the last time they saw each other.

“Hey Harv - I’m sorry for overreacting...” Pamela began to say, but Harvey didn’t do anything to acknowledge her existence, instead he looked straight ahead at a woman in a dark purple floor length dress - drinking and laughing - across the room. Pamela immediately got the notion that Harvey wasn’t interested in speaking to her and walked away, making the rounds to the woman Harvey was staring at - a woman she had already met.

“Selina?” Pamela asked, tapping on her exposed shoulder.  


Without a second thought, Selina turned around - “Ivy? Are you stalking me?” She blurted.

“Not exactly, I just wanted to let you know that - that guy over there,” Pamela pointed to Harvey.

“The DA?” 

“Yes - he’s been checking you out for the past five or so minutes, but I gotta warn you - he’s the biggest meatbag I’ve met so don’t let him waste your time.”

“You know a woman can’t say no to a challenge, Ivy.” Selina smirked.

“Trust me, you’d have better odds with Bruce Wayne himself.”

“Maybe you can introduce us sometime.” Selina said, “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a meatbag to chat up.”

Pamela sighed, checking the time on the grandfather clock before making her way to the parlor. Inside, Bruce was already waiting with Alfred and a young boy with dark hair.

“Miss Isley, what a pleasant surprise to see you again. May I offer you some wine?” Alfred spoke, clearing any tension that would’ve been between Bruce and Pam.

“Just water would be nice, also-” 

“Doctor. It’s Doctor Isley, Al.” Bruce interrupted.

“Of course, my mistake.” Alfred apologized, stepping outside of the parlor to get Pamela’s water.

“You didn’t have to do that, Bruce.”

“Of course I did, I know you busted your ass for that title and I’m gonna let you have it.”

“What happened to you being Doctor Wayne?” Pam skeptizized, glancing over at the boy who was nervously looking around the rest of the room. “And who’s the child?”

“I dropped out, decided to take my place at Wayne Enterprises.” Bruce shrugged, “His name is Dick, he’s my ward.” 

“Shouldn’t he be in bed?” 

“He has nightmares, he watched his parents die too, y’know.” 

“Oh...”

“Anyway, you wanted to discuss things? Why, for the first time in my life, did I witness the Pamela Isley cry?” The man questioned, cocking a casual eyebrow when he skimmed Pamela over again.

Pamela looked back over at Dick, the small boy glancing up at her.

“It’s irrelevant now, just a small burst of emotion. I guess I realized just how much had changed between us - I don’t want to waste your time.” Pam said as she got up from her seat.

“You’re not - is it about your parents?” 

Pam stopped in her tracks.

“They found their bodies in the lake this morning, I know you guys weren’t the closest but I know how hard it is to lose both your parents.” Bruce emphasized. 

“No, it’s not that,” Pamela paused, “It’s nothing, I’ll get over it - I promise.”

“Pamela, you can talk to me - you can even talk to Dick - both of us understand!”

Pamela, again, filled herself with various emotions that she could not recognize - feeling as her face got warmer and warmer while her eyes got darker. 

“Pamela, please... I understand.”

“You understand what it’s like to be used for nothing other than your body?” Pam asked, looking back at the two males - the older one staring at Pamela with concern. “That’s what I thought.” She sneered, walking out of the parlor.

“Doctor, your water.” Alfred motioned to the bottle on the platter before Pamela grabbed it.

“Thank you, Al.” She spoke coldly, in typical Isley fashion before walking out of the house, catching eyes with Selina before reaching her car.


	2. Pamela 2

As Pamela drove off, she caught herself becoming much more relaxed - the fresh air helped her clear her mind despite the fact she knew that using her car would hurt the environment. Despite that, she told herself, just for the rest of the night that she would allow herself to be selfish when it came to her and the green. Though she knew her new-found carefree spirit would only last her to the hotel and she was right. As soon as she stepped out of the car she was overwhelmed with emotion - the same way she was when Bruce spoke to her outside of the reunion. In her twenty-eight years of living Pamela lived her life only truly caring about two things, the environment and her relationships with people. Whether it was Bruce, Harvey, or even Woodrue - Pamela cared, even if she didn’t show it on her exterior but now, now it was getting to be too much for Pamela. And right there, in the parking lot of the shoebox she had been living out of for the past three days, she decided to change that. Her main priority was the green, it would always be the green - people were disappointments anyway.

She pled her promises to the green that she would be its savior, she would risk her life for its safety. The first step was to stop herself from putting the green in harm's way, biting down on her lip and scowling with determination she used her abilities to her advantage in being able to deface her own car.

Thorns from rose bushes were able to pop all four of her tires, while she used blunt force to break her own windshield and windows watching as she thick skin healed up just as fast as she began to bleed. Usually, Pamela would fight with the darker side of herself to prevent anything as insane as what she was doing to go down, but it was like she was murdering her parents all over again. Her fingerprintless hands would make it so she wouldn’t even be caught if a proper autopsy were to be done, though Pam didn’t really care if she was caught as long as it meant she would stop being put through masochist-esque trials by the screaming match going on inside of her head; voices of the green arguing with Pamela’s own voice were overpowered by the distinct voice of Poison Ivy herself, who, once she got what she wanted, faded away and left Pamela to see the mess she had made.

One glance at the ruined machine made Pamela drop back to the ground, screaming and crying in rage, oblivious to the fact that she was being watched by Gotham’s very own - Batman - who stood high and above on the roof of the hotel with his protege Robin.

“Bruce? Is that the lady you introduced me to?” Robin looked up at the Bat concerned.

“No.” The Bat said as he glided off of the roof, Robin following behind him. 

Pamela had heard the footsteps behind her and promptly tried to collect herself, mirroring how she made her way through living with her parents at their social events. As she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself getting tranquilized by the Batman instead. 

-

Pamela woke up later in the afternoon, barely remembering how she fell asleep in the first place - though she didn’t pay much thought to how she slept when she found nights where she could, even if this case revolved around her falling asleep sometime during the early morning. She grumbled at the first glance she got of herself in the mirror, she looked nothing like the prestigious version of herself she made up the previous night - from her smudged lipsticks, runny mascara, and frizzy hair - Pam didn’t recognize herself until she realized that this was not the same Pamela Isley that went to her high school reunion, the version of herself was how Ivy took ahold of her body - even if the pigment of her skin was still the lustrous dark brown and not the deep forest-like green that she usually saw Ivy sporting. Regardless, Pamela cleansed herself of any and all memories of the previous night - even going so far to throwing away the hideous blue dress she stole.

Pamela grabbed a pair of jeans and a light green blouse before making herself presentable to the public - even if she was just going to skip town and forget about the pain Gotham caused her to relive. At least that was the plan until she saw her car - vandalized and destroyed. Immediately she was filled with hatred for whoever ruined her only way out of the city, until she remembered that it was herself - or rather Ivy - that fit the crime. Pam regained control over her emotions, sighing heavily before calling up the only person who would be willing to take her in after the events of the previous night; Bruce Wayne.

“Hello?” A voice that wasn’t Bruce’s answered the phone.

“Alfred?” Pam questioned, trying to decipher the voice she heard.

“Ah, Doctor Isley - how lovely it is to hear from you, Bruce is doing his duty at Wayne Enterprises right now, but any message you have for him can be automatically passed on to me.” 

“Actually, Al - I would rather talk to you, I’m in quite the predicament - my car kind of got vandalized at the hotel I’m staying at…”

“And you need a ride and possibly a place to stay? Why didn’t you just say so Doctor Isley? I’ll be right there.” Alfred chuckled as he took the words out of Pamela’s mouth. 

“Thanks Alfred, I owe you one.” Pamela said ending the call.

Pamela spent only a couple of minutes sitting on the curb before Alfred showed up in the  
limousine - usually only used for one of Bruce’s special appearances, but Pamela assumed that Alfred was just trying to cheer Pamela up by making a grandiose gesture. And though Pam appreciated it, she was still hesitant to sit inside.

“Lovely to see you again, Doctor Isley.” Alfred grinned, looking back through the rear view mirror.

“Please, Al, you practically watched me grow up - it’s fine for you to call me Pamela.” The woman snickered, grasping a bottle of Bruce’s chardonnay - before putting it back down. 

“Of course, Pamela - you just get so used to professional relationships that you assume everyone needs to be associated by title.”

“The life and times of being a butler.” Pam joked, something she rarely did.

“Exactly.” Alfred laughed, driving away from the hotel and towards the manor.

-

Pamela tried to hide that she was swallowing her pride when she saw Bruce and the little one sitting on the front steps of Wayne Manor, only standing once they saw the limo approach. Once the ride had came to a complete stop, Bruce attempted to help Pamela with her bags - but Pam angrily jerked them away from him, walking up to the front door of the manor with Bruce, Alfred, and Dick trailing behind her.

Bruce and Alfred showed Pamela to her room with the awkward tension rising between Pamela and Bruce, Alfred had to attempt to break it - with no avail. Quietly, Pamela thanked Alfred again, shutting the door to the manor’s fourth bedroom and leaving herself alone to unpack. She never thought that she would be temporarily living at Wayne Manor, especially due to something she did to herself.

“Fucking Ivy.” Pamela griminced as she rummaged through her bags, putting them away neatly in the dresser she was given. Out of anger, she slammed one of the drawers, watching as one of the house plants that surrounded the room smashed to pieces on the wooden floor. Pamela winced as tears twinged her eyes, a new sensation to one of her babies being hurt.

Almost immediately, two pairs of footsteps ran down the hallway - infuriating Pamela.

“I’m fine!” She yelled, her voice hitching as she held onto her arm where it hurt.

The footsteps didn’t care to listen as Bruce and Dick stood in the doorway, Bruce running inside next to Pamela.

“Are you sure? What happened?” 

“The plant fell Bruce, the fucking plant. It’s fine, it’s whatever, it’s just a plant.” Pamela said, loathing herself after each and every word she said.

“Oh…” Bruce trailed, looking at the shattered remains of the plant on the floor.

“Like I said, I’m fine - the plant isn’t - but me, Pamela, I’m A-okay.” Pam scowled up at her friend. 

“I’m sorry, Pam.” Bruce mumbled, meeting the woman’s eyes before taking a deep breath, “Dinner’s at six, Alfred’s making pasta.” He said, changing the subject before leaving.

Meanwhile, Dick was still standing in the doorway - watching Pamela as she tried to pick up to broken remains.

“I know you’re there, kid.” She said, not moving her gaze up from the floor.

Dick sighed, stepping inside and kneeling down to help clean up - listening in as Pamela talked to the plant.

“You’re the plant lady, aren’t you?” He asked, looking up at the red head.

“Plant lady? Is that what Bruce thinks of me?”

“No, of course not, it’s just-”

“It’s just, what?”

“It’s a big secret - I don’t know if I should tell you, I’m sorry.” Dick stammered.

Pamela sighed, nodding before looking at what was left of the plant.  
“Well, as a plant lady - I think we should save this plants life.”

Dick childishly laughed, watching as Pamela stood up and carefully held the plant as if it was a child of her own - she walked to the hallway in that position before looking back at Dick and asking; “Are you coming with?”

-

The two of them stood in the back grounds of the manor, watching their plant with a careful eye as Pamela gave it water. 

“Thanks for your help, kid.” Pamela grinned, placing the watering can next to the plant and sitting down.

“It’s - uh - really not a problem, my name’s Dick, by the way. Dick Grayson.” The child awkwardly shuffled.

“You say that like it’s supposed to mean something.” Pamela said, raising an eyebrow up at the boy.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I like it - keep doing that, kid. Make yourself seem important and people will think of you as something more than Bruce Wayne’s ward.”

“Or an acrobatic act?”

“An acrobatic act?” Pamela questioned.

“That’s how he found me, at Haly’s Circus, actually.”

“Interesting, I never saw Bruce as a frequent circus goer.” 

“I don’t think he was, but he was there the night my parents died - it must’ve reminded him of himself.”

The mention of dead parents caused Pamela to tense up as she was reminded of how brutally Ivy had killed off Pamela’s parents. She was reminded of the thorny vines that sliced and strangled her mother and father and how free she felt in the moment. From that point on, they would no longer get to dictate how Pamela lived her life. Instead, Ivy would be the one with the power over Pamela.


End file.
